All Forum Posts by: David M.

Here is a link to a similar project: http://johnmann.me/excel-zillow-api-extraction/

I am looking for a similar tool. Interested to see what others have come up with.

Hi @Betty Cruz I looked the house up on Zillow and was able to see what it foreclosed for under "price/tax history." It was also listed on the county assessor's website. Also, when I looked the house up on Redfin, it listed the same amount as the price. All these things led me to understand that they wanted that much for the house. 

Hi @Casey Rolland. Funny you should ask that! My wife and I asked the same question. I read the 70-page purchase and sale agreement (PSA) and I didn't see any mention of excise tax so I called Hudson and Marshall and insisted it was a seller responsibility. They quickly pointed to a page in the PSA that specified that the buyer would pay any real estate transfer taxes.   We paid the tax, it was still a good deal. Bottom line was you can get a good deal but you have to understand that it will take some time and ALL closing costs are going to be on you. 

@Betty Cruz You are correct. What I should have said was that I had to bid up to the price the house foreclosed for. The bank counterbidded against me (I'm pretty sure it was the bank) up to the exact dollar amount the house foreclosed for. That's what I paid for it. Important to note that I also paid all closing costs and excise tax. It was still a good deal. 

An update to this. The property I was bidding on with Hudson and Marshall went back to auction and I won the auction. This time I had to bid all the way to the original asking price. It was still a good deal so I took it. I used my own closing and title company. I had to pay all closing costs including excise tax. All of this was stated in the terms of the deal and was in the purchase and sale agreement. The process was a bit slow but Hudson and Marshall was fair and executed the deal as stated. I have no complaints and I will do business with them again.

Hi @Tomas Satas. I know this thread is a little old but I'll put my two cents in. I recently won an auction at Hudson & Marshall. I was the only bidder and my bid was at the starting bid (even though my maximum bid was higher). I won the auction and H&M contacted me to let me know. However, the bank rejected my offer. H&M did not call to let me know. I called them and they apologized for the miss. This was frustrating but it is in accordance with their published terms. Overall, they seem legit, but a  little difficult to deal with. The system seems rather inefficient--I was willing to bid more but my bid did not go up since I was the only bidder. Then my offer was rejected for being too low. Now H&M is re-auctioning the property and they never made a counter-offer. It's very odd and doesn't seem very efficient. My advice to anyone considering using H&M is to carefully read the terms for the property before you bid. Make sure you understand and are comfortable with the terms.

@Cassie Sherie - Haha, you are right! 10 is just my short term goal. We need to think big and help each other out. I'm planning to go to every meetup I can. I'm gonna hit Dinner, Drinks on 4/8 and Deals on 4/12. 

Cassie Sherie Hi and welcome to BP! Sounds like a great plan. I am looking for buy and hold rentals in the area and looking to collaborate and others out along the way. Let me know if I can help.

Hi and welcome to BP! I am just a couple days ahead of you in joining. I am also looking around for where to invest. I have two rentals a little south in DuPont. Happy to compare notes once you get your feet on the ground.

Welcome to BP! I am in Ravensdale. If I can help, just let me know. I'd love to meet up with other local investors.

Wow! Thanks a lot for the encouragement and information! I will definitely try to attend some of the meet-ups. I am very interested in talking to other investors in the area and sharing experiences and ideas. I am planning to be at the Meetup on April 8th and any others I can get to. I have been looking around and analyzing properties. I attended the Pierce County foreclosure auction today and that was quite an education.